Justin Turner was voted by his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates and all uniformed personnel as the winner of the 12th annual Roy Campanella Award. It’s presented to the Dodgers player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher.
Turner will be presented with the award by Campanella’s daughter, Joni Campanella Roan, and his grandson, Cary Bell, during pregame ceremonies Tuesday night. Turner has actively worked in the Los Angeles community since joining the Dodgers organization on a Minor League contract in 2014.
Turner played his way into an everyday role for the Dodgers at third base, and this season was named to his first career All-Star Game. He shattered the record for most votes received in the Final Vote to reach the Midsummer Classic.
As for his work off the field, Turner founded the Justin Turner Foundation, which works closely with the Los Angeles Dream Center to provide for families, children and veterans in need.
“J.T. is the epitome of what we’re trying to do going forward, the type of baseball player he is, what he stands for,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Those are the guys you win with.”
Turner was a finalist last year for the Roberto Clemente Award, and was again selected as the Dodgers’ nominee this season. Turner was also nominated by his teammates last season for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.
While the Justin Turner Foundation focuses the bulk of its efforts in Los Angeles and surrounding communities, the foundation formed a partnership with the Yokota Baseball and Softball Association at the Yokota Air Base (YAB) in Fussa, Japan.
Former Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal received the inaugural Roy Campanella Award in 2006, and since then the honor has been awarded to Russell Martin (2007), James Loney (2008), Juan Pierre (2009), Jamey Carroll (2010), Matt Kemp (2011), A.J. Ellis (2012), Clayton Kershaw (2013-14), Zack Greinke (2015) and Chase Utley (2016).
